


Alignments

by edensgay (buckybarfs)



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: Character Death, F/M, I promise, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, but not actually, cursing, graphic stupidity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 19:46:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15274902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckybarfs/pseuds/edensgay
Summary: Jacob attempts to capture the Deputy only to realize too late that he has underestimated how stupidly stubborn she can be.





	Alignments

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request on tumblr!   
> Prompt: "Jacob and FDeputy have to work together for some reason to survive. They both hate it but grow fond of each other over time. Bonus points if Dep is a little shit."

 

It had all started when Rook was minding her own business peacefully trying to fish by the river, she wasn’t good at it but damned if she didn’t try. Jacob had been following her for a few miles and Rook was none the wiser because the man moved like a fucking ghost. A man his size had no business being that quiet.   
  
When she let her guard down to fish he saw the perfect opportunity to strike, creeping up on her while her hook was in the water. He left his pack in a nearby tree, not wanting it to weigh him down when he attacked the Deputy. His hand found it’s way around her mouth while the other held his trusty hunting knife to her throat.  
  
He’d followed her deep into the Whitetail Mountains, it was almost a days hike to get back to where he’d left his truck. His plan was to knock Rook out and drag her back to his truck, using his map and compass for directions. The Whitetail Mountains may be his domain but that didn’t mean he knew every part of the woods like the back of his hand.  
  
In his mind it was going to be easy, hunt the Deputy for a while and lure her into a false sense of security before capturing her. Of course, he could have played  _Only You_  over the radio and that would have been that; but where was the fun in that? Jacob liked the hunt, it was part of why he enjoyed breaking the Deputy so much.  
  
She always fought back, she resisted, she didn’t submit and she didn’t give him what he wanted. It was infuriating and he loved it. Jacob was a predator and she his prey. **  
  
**What he didn’t count on was how _fucking stupid_  the Deputy’s survival instincts were. Instead of submitting when she felt the knife at her throat she struggled, her arms flinging wildly. Jacob let out a low grunt when he felt the sharp barb from her fishhook plant itself into the back of his neck. What came next was her throwing her head back into his, causing them both to see stars as they toppled forward off of the dock.

If Jacob’s inner monologue had been with the times this is where there would have been a record scratch and a freeze frame. He would have said  _‘Yup, that’s me, you’re probably wondering how I ended up in this situation.’_  Then there would have been a funny recollection of events that lead up to this very moment.

Sadly, Jacob was not up to speed on memes.

Rook knocked out the second she hit the water and Jacob smacked his head into the dock on his way down, rendering both of them unconscious as they floated down the river.  
  
Rook recovered first, waking up a few minutes later. She was fucking horrified to wake up floating down a fucking river, a natural reaction, truly. She couldn’t remember what had happened, she remembered fishing and then a struggle. She had no fucking clue who had even snuck up on her, she’d been using that fishing spot for weeks and not encountered a single soul.  
  
Everything made sense once she saw a passed out Jacob Seed floating a few feet in front of her. She watched in horror as the current slowly flipped his limp form over, burying his face below the surface.  
  
Her stupid fucking moral compass wouldn’t allow her to let him drown so she began paddling in his direction. Cursing herself internally as she did so.   
  
One of her arms hooked under his as she began kicking towards the shore, it was painfully slow as Jacob was not light by any means and she was fighting the current. Yet, she fought as hard as she could because up ahead she could see dozens of vicious rocks breaking through the surface of the water.   
  
After what felt like an eternity she managed to set her feet on the ground, her arms and legs were screaming in protest as she began waddling backwards up the back dragging Jacob along. Once his top half was out of the water she pounced on him, straddling his hips as she leaned into his face to check if he was breathing.  
  
She felt no air on her cheek.  _Fantastic_. She turned his head to the side and pried his mouth open, allowing whatever water was in his mouth and nose to dribble out as she pressed her fingers to the column of his throat. Nothing, Jacob Seed was fucking dead. But, she was stubborn to the point of stupid which is why she began chest compressions.   
  
She leaned down to check for breath as she continued the compressions. After a minute he coughed, pushing the river water in his lungs out and straight into the Deputy’s face. Fantastic, she’d saved his life and he spit his river lung water in her face.  
  
She finished dragging him out of the water, pulling him up to the treeline. She needed to get him out of his wet clothes and near a heat source so his dumbass didn’t get hypothermia. First she decided to remove his clothing, which should have been awkward but she was too mad at him for drowning to actually think about what she was doing.  
  
She’d removed his blouse and shirt, hanging them on a low tree branch before moving onto his boots. They turned out to be a fucking struggle, once she finally managed to loosen one of them she pulled on it with all her strength, resulting in her punching herself in the face with a fucking shoe.  
  
Jacob Seed was more trouble than he was worth.  
  
Of course Jacob couldn’t be fucking polite and grab her survival bag as he was knocking her out. If he had they would be much better off, in it she kept space blankets, a tarp, food, water purifier, a water bottle and a bunch of other useful shit.  
  
All she had on her was a half assed survival key chain. On it was a flint and steel, waterproof flashlight and a tiny first aid bag.  
  
Fucking Jacob Seed.  
  
She glared at his limp form for a minute before attempting to make a fire. She unclipped her trusty flint and steel from her key chain where it stayed hooked to her belt and got to work making a fire. After ten minutes of swearing, she got it started.   
  
Once she’d gotten the fire started she removed her clothes, aside from her under garments and hung them on a tree near the fire so they’d dry. The less time she spent naked around Jacob Seed the better.  
  
Thirty minutes later Jacob opened his eyes and saw the Deputy standing over him glaring at him. “The hell?” He mumbled, half certain that this was all a strange dream. His head was fucking pounding and it felt like he was seeing everything through a fog of bliss.  
  
“So, nice of you to join us in the land of the living.” Rook said wryly as she walked away from him.  
  
He frowned at her, narrowing his eyes as he tried to decipher what she meant.  
  
“You drowned. I saved you.  _You’re welcome_.”   
  
He glanced down at himself to check for damage only to notice that he was only clothed in a damp pair of underwear. The care she’d taken to keep him alive surprised him. Slowly he moved into a sitting position, grunting as his body yelled at him.  
  
He watched as she sat herself against a tree, to his surprise she held his knife in her hand. His eyes followed her movements, ready to fight in case she decided to stab him.  
  
“Why?” He frowned at her, wondering what her angle was. They were enemies in his mind, he’d taken her and brainwashed her and in return she’d killed dozens of his men. The two certainly weren’t friendly.  
  
“I dunno because I’m a good fucking person I guess.” She said, shrugging before she picked up the large stick that she’d been whittling into a spear while he rested.  
  
He scooted closer to the fire, warming his body more. He wondered if the police department had taught her this, she’d obvious performed CPR on him and took extra measures to make sure he wouldn’t get sick.  
  
“Where’d you learn this?” He asked gruffly, because the more he knew about her the better. He’d underestimated her in many ways before, assuming that because she was the Rookie that she wasn’t a threat.  
  
She’d given John and Faith hell, and had recently started working on him. Yet despite her efforts her friends still call her Rookie, as if she wasn’t their best shot at dismantling Eden’s Gate. Rook became her only name, as if she didn’t have an actual name.   
  
She glared at him, well aware of what he was trying to do. When Dutch had first rescued her he’d told her that the less the Seeds new about her the better. But she was probably going to die in the wilderness anyways, be it from a bear or from Jacob Seed getting sick of her shit so she decided fuck it.  
  
“I was a poolside cocktail server in Vegas before I became a cop.” She admitted, as she tested how sharp her stick now was. “We had to learn CPR.”   
  
Jacob’s eyebrows would disappear into his hair if they raised any higher. She’d learned CPR because she passed out drinks at a casino pool? He wasn’t sure what type of life he thought Rook had lived before this but it certainly wasn’t that.  
  
“What’s the spear for?”   
  
Rook wrinkled her nose at him. Why was he asking so many questions? Had Jacob Seed gotten brain damage that turned him back into a curious four year old? “Gonna try to catch a fish.” She mumbled, as she continued glaring at him.  
  
Jacob snorted and shook his head, causing her to bite her lip to keep from yelling at him. He might be playing nice right now but if she made the wrong move he’d most likely kill her. “Do you even know how to spear fish?”  
  
“Nope!” She announced cheerily as she headed back towards the water.  
  
Five minutes later she came back soaked and pissed off.   
  
“Have fun, kitten?” Jacob asked, smirking at her.   
  
She definitely did not want to talk about how she’d gone to stab a fish and instead tripped on a rock and fallen face first into the water. She really wasn’t sure how she’d survived for so long, the Heralds of Hope County were fucking relentless and somehow a girl who couldn’t go five minutes without tripping was gaining ground on them.  
  
She had to survive with Jacob Seed for god knows how long.  _‘Thanks, I hate it!’_  She thought bitterly, projecting the thought onto whatever deity was in charge.  
  
“Fuck off.” She grumbled, tossing the stick in his direction. “You’re not on death’s doorstep anymore, time to pull your weight.”  
  
Pull his weight he did, he came back with three fish neatly stuck onto the sharp stick not even ten minutes later. It would have taken Rook hours to catch even one.   
  
 _Stupid fucking show off._  
  
He stepped towards her, invading her space as he looked down at her. She was sat against the same tree as before, staring up at the giant of a man. He was obviously using his size to intimidate her, which was somewhat working.   
  
If she stood up they would be chest to chest but to stand up she’d practically have to shove her face in his crotch. No fucking thank you.  
  
“Can I help you?” She asked, baring her teeth at him in an attempt to scare him off.  
  
He frowned at her and made a scolding noise, shaking his head like she’d just disappointed him. “My knife.” He rasped, holding out his hand as he waited.  
  
Give Jacob his knife back? Yeah fuckin right. He’d have her chopped up and sauteed before her body even realized she was dead. Give a hungry cannibal a knife, yeah that’s a good idea.  
  
“I need it to prepare the fish.” His voice was tense, like he was doing his best not to stomp on her hand and get the knife himself.   
  
“I can do that.” Rook said stubbornly, only for Jacob to bark out a harsh laugh.  
  
“Do you know how to prepare a fish?”   
  
Heavy silence hung in the air as Rooks pride took the hit. No she didn’t know how to prepare a fish, but did she want to admit that? No. Jacob looked far to smug, like he already knew the answer and couldn’t fucking wait for Rook to admit she had to rely on him.  
  
Without a word she handed him the knife, glaring at him as he walked away chuckling. She childishly stuck her tongue out at him once his back was to her and she was confident he wouldn’t see.  
  
“Hey, Jacob. How the fuck did we end up here?” She watched his every move. She wanted to learn how to prepare a fish, but she refused to ask.   
  
She had a feeling she knew exactly how they’d ended up here. It had been some half cocked attempt on her life. Jacob had thought she would go without a fight. He had come after her alone, confident in his abilities to capture one girl. Her stubborn refusal to lay down and take it had thwarted his plans.  
  
Jacob sat on a log, rolling his eyes as he prepared the fish he’d caught. Every dull scrape against the creatures scales made Rook wince. “Come here.” He said, not bothering to look at her.  
  
Without questioning it she got up and sat on the ground beside him. Which was a fucking stupid idea, where were her survival instincts now? Everyone knew that you don’t approach an annoyed wild animal.   
  
Jacob was very much a wild animal, she had no doubt in her mind that if she said one wrong thing he’d string her up in a tree to die. He wasn’t into filleting skin like his brother, oh no, Jacob Seed made  _torture into an art_.   
  
John Seed may make  _torture art_  but it was nothing compared to what Jacob did.  
  
Jacob turned people inside out and made them forget they were human, he left broken people everywhere he went. Wherever Jacob Seed was there was surely a trail of half alive people begging for the mercy of death nearby.  
  
“Watch.” He slowed his movements, showing her how he shucked the skin of the fish off with the dull side of the knife.  
  
“You didn’t answer my question.” Rook murmured, deciding to press her luck. He couldn’t actually kill her, right? Joseph would be mad at him or something.  
  
Though it wouldn’t surprise her if he killed her and told his brother that she got mauled by a bear. That would be her luck.  
  
“You hit me with a fishing hook and then headbutted me.” He answered, speaking slowly as if she were a one-year-old who didn’t understand why it was wrong to throw their peas.  
  
She was so fucking sick of people treating her like she was stupid.  
  
“No shit?” She said, gasping as her hands came up to her cheeks. She faked a shocked expression.   
  
“If I remember correctly, before that you had your knife against my throat.” Rook was certain that she had a death wish.  
  
Jacob gave her a hard look, warning her to shut up now if she valued her life.   
  
“Fine.” She grumbled, acknowledging that she wasn’t going to get an answer out of him. “ _Stubborn old man_.” She mumbled the last part under her breath as she watched him finish gutting the fish.  
  
He easily filleted the fish, making sure his movements were slow enough for her to learn. “Go find some moss.”   
  
She didn’t ask him why, she did what he told her. Between the two of them Jacob was the survival expert, Rook could barely keep herself alive in a house let alone in the middle of the woods.  
  
She returned with two slabs of moss, hoping that it would be correct.  
  
In a way she felt like a small child bringing a forest fae an offering. The idea of Jacob being a faerie made her giggle like a madwoman. When she handed him the moss she couldn’t stop giggling, which made him narrow his eyes at her.  
  
“What’re you laughing at?” His voice was accusing.  
  
“Moss.” She replied, trying to stifle her giggles but utterly failing when the image of Jacob wearing a flower crown popped into her head.  
  
“Right.” He replied, there was a tone of unease in his voice.  
  
It’s not that Jacob wasn’t used to laughing, he heard plenty of it. He’d driven many men to madness to the point where all they’d been able to do in their last moments was lay on the floor laughing like madmen.  
  
If she was already losing her mind, only a few hours into their woodland adventure then she was weaker than he’d thought. He’d always thought of the Deputy as being weaker than him but never weak. He knew that with a firm hand and the right training she could be one of his best soldiers. If she was losing her marbles already then he was wrong about everything.   
  
Jacob didn’t take kindly to looking foolish.  
  
Rook couldn’t stop giggling, even as Jacob stared at her as if she’d grown a cock on her forehead. The entire situation was just too funny. She and Jacob were fuck knows where in the Whitetail Mountains, both of them mostly naked. Before this they’d been enemies but now they were relying on each other for survival.  
  
“I’m sorry,” She spluttered out, snorting loudly. “This is like some twisted slowburn enemies to friends version of Naked and Afraid.”   
  
Jacob scoffed and shook his head at her as he wrapped the fish in the moss and placed it on the fire. “We’re  _not_  friends.”  
  
“Yet.” Rook mumbled, still giggling to herself.  
  
He shook his head at her as if she’d disappointed him, “Get it together, soldier.”   
  
She laughed out loud at that, almost falling over as she stumbled into a sitting position by the fire.   
  
“It’s your fault we’re here.” If she had just gone quietly, reacted like any normal person would then they wouldn’t be here. A normal person would have gone limp.  
  
Rook pouted at him. “I wanted to catch some salmon. Instead, I caught you.” As soon as the words left her mouth another giggling fit possessed her, she couldn’t control herself.  
  
He chose not to reply.  
  
“Are we gonna have to snuggle tonight?”  
  
“For warmth.” Jacob replied, leveling a steely glare at her. “It’s not snuggling.” He said the word snuggling as if it were an infectious disease he was afraid of catching.  
  
“This is how it starts, holy fuck. This can’t be real.”   
  
Jacob shook his head in disgust as he stood up. “Cook the fish. I’m going to build a shelter.”  
  
“Make sure it’s extra small for optimal snuggling!” She called after him, laughing maniacally as he disappeared into the trees.  
  
A little while later he appeared with a pile of branches, dropping them between two trees that were a fair distance apart. After that he disappeared only to come back with more branches, leaves and moss.   
  
Rooks eyes followed him as he moved towards her shoes and stole her shoelaces? Why was Jacob Seed stealing her shoelaces? What did he need them for? Where was he taking them? Would she ever get them back?  
  
She felt a little bit better when he stole his own shoelaces though she was still concerned. So yeah, maybe her survival boots were a  _little_ cheatsy because they zipped up the side but she still needed the shoelaces to keep them tied.  
  
He calmed her worries when he used them to help secure the giant fucking branch that ran between the two trees. At least her stolen shoelaces were going towards a good cause she’d be pretty fucking upset if her sacrifice were in vain.  
  
Actually, that brought up a lot of questions about Jacob. What type of person stole other people’s shoelaces without asking? Obviously it was to aid in their survival but he’d just stolen them as if it were nothing. Had he never had a genuine interaction with another person?   
  
Before she completely got lost in her thoughts she shook her head, clearing her mind as she tried to remember what it was she was doing. Right. Cooking. The small moss smoker was smoking up a storm, a huge column of smoke rising into the pitch black sky.  
  
She checked the fish, pleased to note that they were perfectly cooked. With a little maneuvering she scooted them off the fire.   
  
“Want some help while the fish cool?” She asked as she approached Jacob.  
  
He’d managed to get the bare outline of a lean to, complete with three walls to shield them from any wind.   
  
He grunted in response, nodding towards the pile of leaves and moss. “Insulate it.”  
  
She did just that, putting a layer of leaves over the back of the shelter as Jacob worked on the sides. After the leaves came a layer of moss then more and more leaves.  
  
Once they’d finished the first few layers, they ate. Neither of them bothering to make conversation.   
  
Rook found herself pondering her own morality.  
  
Realistically Jacob didn’t have to take care of her. He didn’t have to teach her to prepare a fish or build a lean to but he had. Joseph had simply told his Heralds to keep her alive, not to coddle her. Jacob did it because he wanted her to be strong.  
  
Joseph had told her that God had a plan for her and while Rook wasn’t completely sold on the idea she wondered if Jacob agreed. She didn’t see Jacob and being a Godly man, but even he seemed to agree that she was part of a bigger plan.   
  
It was unnerving.  
  
Joseph’s flock genuinely believed they were the good guys. That’s what made them so scary.   
  
Rook believed herself to be a  _Lawful Good_ , because that’s what police were. She did what was right, and operated on a strict code of Good vs Evil. She fought for the truth and for the greater good.   
  
Joseph believed he was  _Neutral Good_ , he believed he was the law because in his mind he had the power of God on his side. He devoted his time to helping others, whether they wanted his help or not.  
  
John believed he was a  _Chaotic Good_ , which in a way was worse. John was the most undecided of the bunch. He wasn’t dedicated to being morally upstanding or upholding good in any way. He did things as he saw fit, all the while believing that everything he did was truly correct.  
  
Faith was hands down seen to be a Neutral Good, a person who believed they were good. She mistook her own devotion to Joseph as a devotion to God, believing that she was truly good and that she actually did what was best for people whether they knew it or not.  
  
If asked she was sure that the other resistance members would see Jacob as a Neutral Evil. Rook had agreed at first.   
  
Now she wasn’t so sure. 

She’d started to see Jacob as more of a  _Lawful Evil_ , he did very questionable things and had little to no regard for human life but there was a reason behind everything he did. Jacob had a near reckless dedication to his cause and ruled with an iron fist not caring who he hurt in the process, and that’s what was so dangerous about him. His methods may be questionable but they got the job done, he accomplished what he set out to do; one way or another.  
  
“Kitten.” Jacob’s harsh voice cut through her thoughts like a blade.   
  
Who was she kidding? It was highly unlikely that any of them knew what alignment charts were. Hope County was oddly removed from the world, almost like it was stuck in a completely different Era.  
  
“Yeah?” She answered, tilting her head at him as she slurped up the last bit of her fish.   
  
He stomped out the fire, reducing it to small glowing embers. “Time to finish.”   
  
She followed him back to the shelter where they worked wordlessly.   
  
Nothing Jacob Seed said was a question. It was always a demand. It had taken her a few hours to notice, he may sometimes phrase things as a question but there was never an option. Jacob Seed planned everything, which was why it was so odd to her that they were here right now.   
  
“I was thinking about alignment charts.” She admitted as she pieced together the wall to their shelter.  
  
Jacob made a noise in the back of his throat, if Rook was correct it almost seemed curious.  
  
They continued in silence once more until Jacob broke the silence.  
  
“What am I?”   
  
“ _Lawful Evil_.”   
  
To her surprise he chuckled. “I’d agree.”  
  
Jacob was the most self aware out of the group. Jacob saw himself as a necessary Evil. He was the most grounded, if anything he was the most reasonable brother and that scared Rook. He knew what he did was questionable but he did it because he saw it as his duty.   
  
“I’d always thought of myself as a Lawful Good.” She admitted in a small voice.  
  
There was an unspoken but at the end of her sentence.   
  
What separated her from the Project? What made her so good? She was killing just as many people as they were. Why was she suddenly above them?   
  
“What is Joseph is right?” It came out as barely a whisper.  
  
The question Rook had been asking themself for so long, but had always been afraid to speak aloud.  _What if she was the bad guy?_  
  
“Shut up.” Jacob growled as he fumbled to make a mat for them to sleep on. He was sat on the floor, wrestling with random materials that he’d found. If Rook wasn’t so offended, she would have laughed.  
  
Her mouth popped open in shock. Here she was trying to have a nice conversation where she questioned her own morality and Jacob had told her to shut up. “Are you fucking kidding me?”  
  
He let out an annoyed huff, glaring at her as he waited for her to calm down. “There’s no point in you tearing yourself to shreds.” He sounded so reasonable, it only infuriated the Deputy.  
  
“What do you mean there’s no point? I’m questioning my side! Shouldn’t you be trying to convert me?” She flailed her arms, completely giving up on finishing the shelter.  
  
Was it rational to be trying to convince Jacob to give her a reason to abandon her friends? No. Was it smart to beg a cultist to convince them to join the cult? Not at all. Was she coming off like a crazy person? Definitely.   
  
Did Rook particularly care about any of that? Not in the slightest.  
  
Jacob should be capitalizing on this, using her weakness against her and coercing her to his side. His brothers had fought so hard to convert her and yet here he was.   
  
“Would it make a difference if I did?” There was that reasonable tone again. Since when was Jacob the reasonable one?   
  
The Deputy knew that he was right, she would never leave her friends. She couldn’t do that to them. She’d fight the good fight until the very end, even if she ended up being wrong.   
  
“No.” She admitted, staring down at the ground in realization. Nothing any of the Seeds could do or say would change her path.   
  
“Shelter looks good.” Jacob said as he stood up.   
  
Since she’d come to Hope County, she’d found a near flawless way of coping with her unwanted emotions. She imagined a hall closet, at the top of the closet was a dusty box that she pulled out when needed, she’d store her emotions in there to deal with at a later date.  
  
If their shelter had a pillow she’d scream into it because a world where Jacob Seed was a rational person whose actions actually made sense was not a world she wanted to live in.  
  
“Bedtime.” There it was, the ordering around. In a way it comforted Rook, the way Jacob seamlessly went back to being the bossy Herald she thought she knew. Him being understanding was creepy.  
  
“You’re not my dad.” She grumbled as she walked over to their clothes, annoyed once she realized they were still damp. She’d have to cuddle Jacob in just her underwear. Nice.  
  
Adelaide would have a fucking field day if she ever heard about this.  
  
“Should you really be sleeping?” She asked, turning to him with wide eyes as she remembered that he’d fucking died a few hours before.  
  
He snorted, but there was no humor. “If something was wrong with me I’d be dead already.”   
  
Her eyes narrowed at him as she crossed her arms like a petulant child. “I don’t think that’s true.”  
  
“Considering how hard you headbutted me you might have a concussion? Should you be sleeping?”  
  
“If I had a concussion we’d know by now.” She tried to reason.  
  
Jacob shook his head solemnly, “There are symptoms that come later.”  
  
Rook let out a horrified squawk. “How dare you try to get between me and my sleep!”  
  
“I’m serious.” He wasn’t.  
  
“I’ll prove that I don’t have a fucking concussion.”  
  
When she turned her back Jacob allowed himself a small grin, there was his soldier.   
  
She wrestled the waterproof flashlight from her key chain and promptly turned it on and shined it in her eyes. “See? No sensitivity to light.” Her eyes watered at the brightness, but it didn’t hurt.  
  
In a moment of sheer stupidity she tried to step forward, while she was blinding herself. Naturally she tripped and landed on her face.  
  
Just her luck.  
  
Jacob let out a deep laugh, the sound warming Rook from the inside out. He had said that she would need some training to be a great soldier.  
  
Rook laid on the ground groaning instead of getting up.  
  
“ _Bedtime_.” Jacob said, stepping towards her and scooping her up with ease.  
  
A loud noise of protest escaped her lips as he tossed her over his shoulder and carried them to their little hut.   
  
The two of them settled down into their little shelter, Rook curled up near the back while Jacob lay toward the open side.  
  
“Snuggle time.” She mumbled as she koala’d Jacob’s back, wrapping around him like some type of parasite feeding off of him.   
  
Jacob made a disgruntled noise but accepted the way she snuggled into him.   
  
As they lay in silence she found it harder and harder to keep her emotions at bay. She had one other flawless coping method, humor.  
  
“Didn’t take you for a small spoon, Jacob Seed.”  
  
“Shut up.”  
  
“So testy.” She grumbled as she pressed her face into his back, her hands splayed across the expanse of his stomach.  
  
Jacob stiffened at the contact but relaxed after a few seconds. Rook wondered how long it had been since he’d felt such a gentle touch, judging by the scars that covered him it had been too long.  
  
“Y’know what I just realized?” She asked, tracing circles on his skin.  
  
“Don’t care.” Jacob was hand to God trying his best to sleep, but the girl behind him was driving him fucking crazy.  
  
“You’re a  _catch_ , Jacob Seed.”   
  
He groaned as he tried to roll away from her, as if he could physically distance himself from her bad jokes. “I should have killed you.”  
  
She wrapped herself harder around him, giggling softly as she did so. After a minute he stopped struggling, he almost seemed to be enjoying their banter.  
  
“Go to sleep.” He instructed, pretending that he wasn’t snuggling closer to her.  
  
Rook made a noise of acknowledgment, allowing herself to finally close her eyes. “Thanks.” She murmured into the freckled skin of his back.   
  
She didn’t tell him what she was thanking him for, but Jacob knew all the same.   
  
“We’re still not friends.” He replied.  
  
Oh, they were  _so_  friends.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you leave feedback I will cry tears of joy.


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